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I Have Symptoms Of An UTI And The Urinalysis Test
Question: I have symptoms of an UTI and the urinalysis test came back positive. I also had a urine culture done and that came back normal - nothing wrong at all. I have been on two courses of antibiotics and do not feel much better. I wonder why there would be a difference between the results of the urinalysis and the urine culture and which one is more reliable.
Brief Answer:
culture is generally more reliable
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The urine culture would be more accurate though this would also have some small risk of error. It would identify the exact bacteria (if one is present), that is causing the infection, would be identified.
The urinalysis looks for the presence of glucose, ketones, blood, protein, specific gravity (concentration of the urine), bilirubin, nitrites and leucocytes.
In an infection, nitrites and leucocytes are usually present.
Your doctor can consider sending the sample for both urinalysis and urine culture at a different lab to see if the results are any different.
This would make any lab error less likely.
There is a condition called interstitial cystis where a person experiences ongoing/chronic bladder symptoms, the exact cause can sometimes not be identified.
This possibility can be discussed with your doctor.
There are different treatment options if this condition is identified but the response varies.
Treatment can vary from oral meds, medication injected directly into the bladder, surgical treatment, electrical stimulation or complementary treatment options (acupuncture etc)
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
culture is generally more reliable
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The urine culture would be more accurate though this would also have some small risk of error. It would identify the exact bacteria (if one is present), that is causing the infection, would be identified.
The urinalysis looks for the presence of glucose, ketones, blood, protein, specific gravity (concentration of the urine), bilirubin, nitrites and leucocytes.
In an infection, nitrites and leucocytes are usually present.
Your doctor can consider sending the sample for both urinalysis and urine culture at a different lab to see if the results are any different.
This would make any lab error less likely.
There is a condition called interstitial cystis where a person experiences ongoing/chronic bladder symptoms, the exact cause can sometimes not be identified.
This possibility can be discussed with your doctor.
There are different treatment options if this condition is identified but the response varies.
Treatment can vary from oral meds, medication injected directly into the bladder, surgical treatment, electrical stimulation or complementary treatment options (acupuncture etc)
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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